Metro Nashville Public Schools broke ground Thursday morning on the new and updated Lakeview Elementary Design Center.
The district plans to build the school on its existing campus in south Davidson County’s Antioch community over a multi-year period.
“This groundbreaking event is symbolic of our city’s commitment to educational excellence for every child in Metro Nashville Public Schools and it marks the beginning of a new era in how we educate our children here in the Antioch community. We’re preparing our students for the rest of their lives, and it has never been more exciting than right now,” said Lakeview principal Shantrell Pirtle.
Lakeview Elementary is a design center focused on character education for PreK through fifth-grade students.
The updated school will feature state-of-the-art technology and facilities tailored to create an efficient and effective learning environment for more than 800 students like fourth-grader Ephraim Butt.
“A new school will instill a sense of pride in the already great Antioch community. Lakeview has been a pillar in the community for more than 50 years and to see a new school in this historical community would mean so much to the Lakeview Family,” said Butt. “This new building makes me excited to stay another year at Lakeview as a fifth-grader.”
MNPS Director of Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle expressed excitement for the project during Thursday’s ceremony. Dr. Battle said this expansion has been a long time coming for families in Antioch.
“We waited a long time. We had been patient for this moment so today, again, is a joyous occasion. It is so important that we create, design, and construct the teaching and learning environment that our students, staff, and families deserve,” said Battle. “The way the school looks isn’t the most important thing. We all know that teaching and learning and giving our students an opportunity to perform and present and showcase their learning is top-of-mind. But a building’s condition can definitely set the right tone for our academic expectations, and it ties into our mission, our mantra of every student in MNPS being know.,”
Dr. Battle wasn’t the only one excited for the new Lakeview Elementary.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell said that the impact of a new school will bind together the community, increase community pride, and increase excellence in the school halls and outside of it.
The expansion also gives teachers an opportunity to reach more students.
“A great teacher in the classroom can have a transformative effect on a student,” said Mayor O’Connell. “And giving teachers a state-of-the-art facility to teach in can have a transformative effect on the work they are able to do on the students.”
The Lakeview groundbreaking is the latest in recent education facility investments the district is celebrating including reopening Goodlettsville Elementary School, opening James Lawson High School, the district’s newest high school, and the groundbreaking at Percy Priest Elementary School last month.
“This project shows a city united behind the vision of ensuring all children have a chance of great education in our public schools. And it also shows that we are investing all over the county in these opportunities,” said Mayor O’Connell.
